Harlow Council has once again paid tribute to individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the local community.
Last night’s (Thursday 26 May) Annual Council meeting began with the 2022 Civic Awards.
For the second year, the awards were nominated by members of the public.
Receiving awards from Councillor Clive Souter (Chair of Harlow Council 2021 to 2022) were:
Dean Beaumont
Dean is a Special Police Constable who helps to keep Harlow safe whilst maintaining his day job as a school teacher. He has responded to many emergencies, often at short notice, the most recent being a cardiac arrest near his home during which he performed CPR.
Harlow Rocks
Harlow rocks has done an awful lot of community engagement since it was set up several years ago. It encourages health and wellbeing by giving all people both young and old a reason to go out exploring in the town park and other areas looking for the treasure that is a painted rock. The group recently donated rocks to Livability for its fairy garden, and has been helping raise staff morale at Princess Alexandra Hospital by ‘rocking’ the hospital. They have also donated rocks to several school fetes to help raise money.
Mona Singh
Community engagement worker Mona has worked tirelessly, both before and during the pandemic, to support families in need. She set up online groups which helped families to set up the right home learning environments for children during lockdown, worked on health campaigns and set up drive-through distribution days for families to safely pick up essential items during the pandemic. She has made a genuine difference to many Harlow residents’ lives.
Roots to Wellbeing
Roots to Wellbeing organises health and wellbeing walks for people of all ages, after school clubs and special educational needs during school holidays. They provide a safe space and a calming environment for children to be creative, have fun and interact with each other. Roots to Wellbeing is an organisation which really does go above and beyond for Harlow.
Tessa Harvey
Tessa looks after many residents in Harlow who are living with dementia. She gives them a place of comfort, where they can engage in social interaction, laugh and feel loved. She puts her heart and soul into everything she does and treats those she helps as if they were her own relatives. Tessa started up a voluntary group dedicated for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients and their carers at Moot House in the Stow. This is a place where people can not only socialise and enjoy entertainment but also receive advice and support. It provides a real lifeline for so many people.
Alex Reid
On the 27 of February 2022 Alex scored five goals for Harlow Town in a 7-0 league win. In doing so, he not only equalled the highest ever goal tally of any player in Harlow Town Football Club’s history he also beat it. At time of writing Alex has scored a record 199 goals for Harlow Town. His 199 goals came in 312 appearances for the club. He is much loved on the terraces, is a leader both on and off the field and has inspired a lot of younger players, and a few older ones too, to persevere in the game. He also holds the record for the most goals in any one season when in the 2013-14 season he scored 52 goals! In 2016 he helped the club gain promotion into the Southern Premier League. All this while being a full-time teacher.
Harlow Rugby Club’s Under 16s Team Coaches
The rugby club’s under 16 coaches, Paul, Ian and Mark, played a vital role in helping the young players maintain their health and wellbeing during the pandemic, which was a particularly challenging time for them. Thy offered support, mentorship and camaraderie. Their support will have undoubtedly helped players to avoid potentially serious mental health issues through their open and honest approach and professionalism.
Thomas Church
Thomas began volunteering at Harlow Town Football Club in the 2015/16 season - the year that the club gained promotion through the play-offs. Thomas was around 10 or 11 years old when he first volunteered and used to help set up the pre-match warmups and anything else that the coaching staff required him to do. He travels to every match, home and away, and also helps out with the training sessions at the club on Tuesday and Thursday nights. He commands a great deal of respect from the management, officials, players and supporters. Thomas has been through the good times and the bad times with the club, but is always positive and happy and fun to be around.